EXCLUSIVE Crime Stories Interview: Dad of missing tot girl Mariah Woods breaks down, ‘Baby, come home. Daddy loves you!’
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Toddler Mariah Woods has been missing for three days now, and while authorities work endlessly night and day trying to find her, a father is waiting, desperately hoping that his baby girl returns home safe.

CrimeOnline‘s Nancy Grace spoke exclusively to Alex Woods, the biological father of 3-year-old Mariah, who disappeared from her family’s Jacksonville, NC, home on early Monday morning. The child’s mother, Kristy Hunter, divorced from Woods and living with boyfriend, Earl Kimrey, told authorities Mariah was in bed at around 11 p.m. the night prior. She said when she checked on the little girl at 6:30 a.m., she was nowhere to be found.

Mariah Woods [Photo: Handout]
Woods, who told Grace he’s been in a custody battle with Hunter for over a year, said his ex-wife never told him Mariah disappeared. In fact, he said he heard about his little girl while listening to the radio.

“I didn’t think it was real,” Woods told Grace. “I heard her name over the radio and I was like, ‘Do what? No way.’ It took a minute to hit.”

Woods said he asked his fiance, Heather, to look the information up to make sure what he heard was true. He said even after his fiance confirmed it, it still didn’t register with him. Now, however, as the search reaches its third day and Mariah is still missing, the shock has been replaced with pain and fear. Woods said he’s desperate to find his daughter and his biggest hope is that she will be returned home safely.

“Please bring my baby girl back home,” Woods pleaded. “Daddy loves her and misses her so much. She’s a perfect little girl. She’s done nothing wrong to nobody. I just want her safely returned. I don’t care. I just want her, please. I love you; Daddy loves you, baby!”

Stayed tuned for the second part of Grace’s interview with Woods, airing tomorrow. “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” is also a national radio show, heard on SiriusXM’s Triumph Channel 132, five times everyday. You can subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iTunes and Google Play.

Timeline of Mariah’s Disappearance

Nov. 27

The FBI is helping Jacksonville, North Carolina, authorities locate a 3-year-old little girl who police say was abducted from her own home.

WITN reports that an AMBER Alert was issued on Monday morning at around 6:45 a.m. for Mariah Woods, a toddler last seen at around 11 p.m. on Sunday night when her mother, Kristy Kay Hunter, put her to bed inside their Jacksonville home at 2404 Dawson Cabin Road. At around midnight, Hunter’s live-boyfriend, Earl Kimrey, checked on the toddler and told Hunter to “go back to bed.”

Sheriff Miller of the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department said at this point, they aren’t sure who has the little girl or exactly what happened.

“We don’t know what happened. It’s entirely premature to try to determine what happened.”

Mariah is described as a white female, standing around 2 feet 9 inches tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She weighs around 30 pounds.

 

Nov. 28 

The father of a missing 3-year-old toddler in North Carolina spoke out on Tuesday as authorities continue to look for the little girl, who disappeared from her home on early Monday morning.

ABC12 reports that Alex Woods is the biological father to missing toddler, Mariah Woods, of Jacksonville, as well as the father of her two older brothers, ages 10 and 5. Woods told the station that he hasn’t seen his children in over a year after a nasty custodial dispute between himself and the children’s mother, Kristy Hunter. He said he custody of the children for around a month last year after an incident that alerted Child Protective Services, but when Hunter got the kids back, she reportedly wasn’t cooperative in allowing Woods visitation.

Apparently, due to the volatile history between the former couple, Woods isn’t convinced that the story Hunter told police is true. According to Hunter, she checked on her daughter at around 11 p.m at their home at 2404 Dawson Cabin Road in Jacksonville. She said at midnight, her live-in boyfriend, Earl Kimrey, checked on the toddler and allegedly told Hunter to “go back to bed.” Hunter checked on her daughter again at 6:30 a.m. and the little girl was missing.

“Someone just walked right up in there, grabbed the 3-year-old out of the bed and she didn’t cry, she didn’t scream?” Woods asked. “Nobody heard anything? Four people in the house, two adults and two kids someone just comes up and snatches the baby and walks out?”

Check back with CrimeOnline as additional information becomes available.

[Feature Photo: FBI, Onslow County Sheriff’s Office]